Saturday, December 26, 2009

Best of 2009: Dark lagers

I have tried some dark lagers this year, but far less than the amount of pale lagers. This category should normally include various German beers, but as I have not been to Germany in 2009 I believe that some major contenders are disqualified this time around. And that also includes one of my favourite dark lagers: The Czech Kout na Šumavě 18° dark lager that unfortunately was not available at U Slovanské Lípi when I visited Prague in October.

Still, I have found three nominees:

- Kout na Šumavě 14°- Naboen Bayer- Oldgott Barique

Naboen Bayer is a Norwegian beer sold at the Naboen pub in Bergen. This is brewed for Naboen at an undisclosed brewery from Naboen's own recipe. It is a great dark lager beer in the Bavarian style, and I am very fond of it. The two other nominees are Czech beers. Oldgott Barique is dark amber in colour and full of taste. It is best from tap, and as such it is only available from the U Medvídků restaurant in Prague. Kout na Šumavě 14° dark lager is also a great beer, and it is one of the better dark lagers I have tried. Compared to the widely available Czech Kozel beer, Kozel has more or less nothing to compete with.